True Confessions

True confessions ... I LOVE jewelry.  I love to shop for it and buy it .. and then I rarely wear it.  Both of these caught my eye!! 

Check them out here - Anthropologie

Flashback Fridays

Dressing up for Easter Sunday has lost a little bit over time with teenagers.  As you can see, the youngest is still into finding the perfect dress and rockin the sparkles .. not so much with the older two!!

Oh, but there was a time when they too LOVED the fun of dressing up for Easter!!

  

 

Favorite Easter Egg

We had a giant Easter Egg hunt with a group of friends .. one of the boys opened an egg to find this on a piece of paper:

HA! HA!  Not so funny with the under 8 crowd .. but hilarious if you like messing with the older kids!!

That's What I Like About Me

I was going to link up to Miss Ashley's post over at divorcedand20@blogspot.com ... but of course, I'm too late and missed it!  Ashley had a rough day .. one of those where you just feel bad about yourself and your life.  We've all had those days!!  Rather than focusing on all the things she wants to work on, she decided to write about the things she loves about herself.  Since I've been focusing on the negative a bit lately, I decided to go ahead with the post anyway and have a little Stuart Smalley moment!

Hi .. My name is Heidi

I love my blue eyes .. especially the wrinkle lines when I smile

I love my laugh .. loud and infectious that it is

I love that it is really easy for me to love .. especially kids 

I love that I am fearless

I love that I have a wicked sense of humor

I love that I am crazy curious and constantly learning new things

I love that I am a decent photographer

I love that I can play trucks with a two year old one day and speak in a boardroom the next day .. and am good at both

I love making people smile

So funny .. I could go on for thirty minutes discussing my eyebrows .. which despite repeat applications of Rogain, they still refuse to grow.  It is so much harder to say the positive things about yourself!!

So tell me .. what do you love about you?

Hoppy Birthday / Easter Cake

Welcome to my Plan B life .. I had an idea/vision for Megan's cake.  We were doing a family birthday/Easter party.  She still wanted a traditional birthday cake, but with an Easter twist.  I was going to get the cakes ready ahead of time, but my husband convinced me that the cakes dry out too fast if you leave them out.

There was no way I could stay inside while some of the cutest kids I know hunted for Easter Eggs!

Then I got sidetracked taking photos of the cutest little girl EVER!  Seriously, I could take her picture and snuggle and play with her for hours!!

This left us putting cakes together with the all eyes of the hungry munchkins staring over the countertop.  My vision for the cakes turned into a bizarre cross between Hell's Kitchen and Cake Boss.

So the frosting is not quite dark enough and the grass was applied with a ziploc instead of the right tip ... but she LOVED the chocolate bunnies and the end result!!

 

Perfection

This is one of my favorite songs .. and Miss Carrie does an AMAZING job here!!





If I had one wish .. it would be to have a voice that can create moments like this!!

Who is in charge here?

At church, I hang out with the little ones for a couple of hours every Sunday.  Normally, it is me, Dawni and about 12 munchkins between the ages of 18 months and 3.

Dawni started her fabulous lesson.  About four of the kids were engaged with putting up the cutouts while Dawni told the Easter story.  I attempted to keep the other 8 kiddos in their seats .. which is really a live version of calf roping.

At the end of the lesson, we turned to find Miss Ellie .. who had been sitting quietly in her seat the whole time .. with a pile of purple straw ribbon.  Yes, she had taken her Easter Bonnet and pulled it apart line by straw line until there was nothing left but a heap!!

First you try really hard not to laugh .. followed by a moment of "oh crap" as you realize you are going to have to face the music with a most likely unhappy parent .. followed by more calf roping.

We know who is in charge ... and we hope they all had a very Happy Easter!!

Subway Art

I LOVE decorating for the holidays!  This one is a bit late for Easter ... but it is free!




https://veryjane.com/Deal/1/subway-art-print-for-springtime


All you do is download the file and have it printed at Costco, Sam's or anywhere else that does photo printing.

LOVE IT!!

Eggstra Fun Wreath

This is why my neighbors think we are nuts ...

I posted a picture of our Easter Wreath a few days ago.  It was up on the front door and we got several compliments from our neighbors.  Then, Rach got creative and we made another wreath with plastic eggs.

This triggered a big debate on which wreath we liked better .. which resulted in a 50/50 split of opinions.

Rach deemed her wreath the best and swapped it out for the original Easter wreath!

Two wreaths in two days .. it is hard to keep up around here!!

Daddys and Daughters

Daddy Daughter Dates ... Such an amazing opportunity for a girl to spend some quality time along with her Daddy!  I had the privilege of serving as the photographer last night for dance pictures.

I got a little teary eyed more than a few times as I watched these lovely young ladies have the "best night ever" with their dads!  They laughed .. and danced .. and hula hooped .. and giggled the night away.

I remembered my own Daddy Daughter Date -- Don't mind the severe awkward stage that was going on!

Twenty years ago yesterday, my Dad died.  On this anniversary, I was incredibly blessed to spend a night surrounded by daughters and dads and love.  

I am grateful for my Dad and his constant influence in my life.

I am grateful for my Heavenly Father.  I know He loves me and He is a source of light every day.

I am grateful for Jeremy.  My girls are blessed with an amazing dad and they could not ask for anything more.

Such a FABULOUS night .. I am most grateful for the lovely reminder of the importance of creating moments in life that are full of love!

Flat Stanley SHINES

Shine Project

I went for the "Let Love Shine" challenge this week!  My sweet niece in Idaho sent us a Flat Stanley who was in need of an adventure.  Lucky for her and Flat Stanley, I was going to New York this week.

I spent some time after my meetings helping Flat Stanley see New York.

How am I tying this back to the Shine Challenge this week?  

Well, I'm a firm believer in everyone needs those moments when it is all about you.  Not the kind of daily "all about you" that tends to make one selfish and snotty .. but those moments when you feel special and cool and confident!  This belief generally results in birthday parties that are slightly out of control, but we'll talk about that later.  This project gave me the perfect opportunity to do something special for my niece.  I put together a box from New York and a letter from Flat Stanley to send back to her to report on our adventure.

I hope she gets to report to her class on her adventure with Flat Stanley.

I hope she feels cool when she wears her t-shirt and tells the story over and over again.

I hope she knows how much we love her.

Most of all, I hope she wears her necklace and tells everyone what it means and that it reminds her regularly of the light she can share with others.

Here is the letter:

Dear XXXXX,

I had a great time, but I am really happy to be back with you!  After you mailed me to Texas, I got to ride on an airplane to New York City!!  I met the nicest people on the plane.  I even took a picture with one of the flight attendants.

In New York, I got to see some AMAZING things.  I went to one of the biggest toy stores in the world – FAO Schwarz.  It was HUGE!  The Lego section was so cool.  They had giant people created from Legos.  My favorite part was the mini racecars.  I got to pretend I was driving!  I got my picture taken with the toy soldier that stands in front of the store every day.  He told these nice people from Paris, France all about me and my story.  They were very impressed that I had come all the way from Idaho to Texas to New York!  The toy soldier was so nice.  He was one of my favorite things about New York.  I got you an ornament for your Christmas Tree so every year you can remember me and my friend, the toy soldier.

Did you know they have people on the streets in New York who sell food?  You can just walk right up to their carts and buy a drink, or a pretzel or other snacks.  That was so cool!!  I had to take a picture of that!

Do you remember that movie “Home Alone”?  I got to see the hotel that Kevin stayed in all by himself.  It was so fancy!!  It sits right next to Central Park.  I couldn’t go too far into the park because it was raining really hard.  Central Park looked really big and really pretty!

Guess what else I found in New York?  A whole store dedicated to M&Ms!  How cool is that!!  You could get M&Ms in every color you could think of.  The green M&M was even dressed up like the Statue of Liberty.  I thought that was pretty funny!

On my last night in New York, I went down to Times Square.  We were trying to take a picture when all of a sudden this group of men came over and started calling my name.  They made Aunt Heidi get in the photo with me.  It was great!  It is like everyone knows who I am no matter where I go.   It really made me feel special!

You really helped me feel special by sending me on this great adventure … I wanted to do something to help you feel special too!   You are such a great friend.  I think you are super cool and really fun to hang out with.  Sometimes when you smile really big, it is like you are glowing with love!  This necklace will always help you remember the light inside of you.  It shines even brighter when you smile, give hugs, and try to be a friend to everyone.  I know I felt your light!  Just like the necklace says … Always let your light SHINE!!

Thanks again for sending me on a wonderful adventure!  I hope you like your t-shirt.  We can wear them on the same day and be twins!!  :)

Love,

Flat Stanley

New York

I got asked a few days ago if I ever get sick of going to New York.  Let's see ...

The consultant I met with recently moved buildings.   The new offices just happen to be located in the Bergdorf Goodman building, which just happens to be a couple of blocks from Central Park.  I was seriously giddy walking into this building.

During the tour, I was amazed by the 1920 original flooring that has been painstakingly restored, the open industrial look, and most of all the AMAZING views.  One side of the office looks out over Central Park.  In about a month, that is going to be a fantastic sight!

Through another set of windows, you can see down into the corporate offices of Tiffanys.  Several blue bags were spotted on desks.  Louis Vuitton is also nearby.

Being the mature, professional woman that I am ... I giggled like a little girl during the whole tour!!  I think it is probably fair to assume I will never get sick of going to New York!  :)

Shine

So, I have a dilemma ...

I came across THE SHINE PROJECT a few weeks ago and I fell in love with the concept.

I ordered a necklace for myself

I got necklaces for each of my girls and gave them a challenge to find someone to give the second necklace to.

I honestly read the weekly challenges and look for opportunities to bring a little sunshine into the lives of others.

Now, Miss Ashley wants me to share ...

The letter I wrote to my girls about this project

The story of each person they gave a necklace to and how it turned out

Specific things we do during the week to SHINE.

I'm not sure Miss Ashley got the memo ...

I really don't talk about this kind of stuff .. it makes me feel awkward.

I work behind the scenes .. nice and quiet .. without a spotlight.

Frankly, there are people in my ward that I would never want to be assigned as their Visiting Teacher because I would never want anything I do for them to fall under an "obligation" umbrella.

I love doing things for others and I never feel closer to the Lord than in those moments.

Miss Ashley says that sharing helps to inspire others.

I say that sharing takes away from the moment .. and makes me feel like my motivations are now about being recognized ... and not just about spreading a little sunshine.

The Scarlet Letter

I don't recall doing poster projects, but the teachers in Texas LOVE to assign poster boards to demonstrate your understanding of certain critical pieces.  One of the latest involved the Scarlet Letter .....

Hester would be so proud!!  The chipboard letters in black and white were perfect!  Not necessarily the least expensive route ... but they sure looked nice!  We used ribbon for the A and highlighted everything with adhesive stripes of bling, and managed to make the "Wall of Fame" in the hallway for excellent work!  :)

Baby Girl

This is my baby girl ... my oldest .. my sunshine:

She used to look like this:

Then she looked like this:

Now she is taking the SAT and the ACT

She wants to go to BYU .. which is in Utah .. which is a long way from Texas

I cried the other day .. a lot.  I can't believe we got to this point in life so fast.

I swear I blinked and it was gone.

Don't get me wrong .. I would never do anything to hold her back.

I'm excited for the next phase of her life and I know she will love it.

I'm just going to mis her ... A LOT.

I hope I've done everything I can to prepare her for the big wide world.

I need a kleenex .....

Easter Wreath

Megan and I needed a project .. and this quick and easy wreath was just the thing!!

A Styrofoam wreath

Moss

Eggs

Ribbon to hang

And there you have a fun wreath!!

ScarJo

No one at my house understands the gravity of this situation, so I am coming here.  Scarlett, Scarlett, Scarlett ... where has your mind gone to?  Let me explain.  Scarlett Johansson recently filed for divorce from Ryan Reynolds, and then almost immediately hooked up with Sean Penn. 

Just so I'm clear ... This is Ryan Reynolds:

Sean Penn:

Ryan Reynolds:

Sean Penn:

I volunteer to host an intervention and help Scarlett reevaluate her current position in life.  Your marriage falling apart is one thing .. but Sean Penn.  REALLY??!!